Our Daniel wins the North Riding Duck Race

Posted by Chris:

You wait years for Yorkshire Day (1st August) to fall on a Saturday, organise a bigger event than usual event and it rains!

The miserable weather kept the crowds away from our Summer Fayre and Duck Race and even some of the stall holders stayed at home.

Prospective Lib Dem MP for Redcar, Ian Swales and Councillor Eric Howden started the day off in Redcar High Street where Eric promoted the sale of white roses by the ladies of Redcar Ladies Lifeboat Guild, in aid of Redcar lifeboat and Ian read the Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity.

In Marske Yorkshire flags were flying from several properties in the High Street and another flew proudly from the pole outside the Saltburn Conservative Club.

The North Riding Duck Race in Saltburn Valley Gardens was combined this year with a Summer Fayre, expertly organised by Councillor Irene Curr on behalf of the Yorkshire Ridings Society. The miserable weather kept the crowds away in spite of the fact that we were able to give hundreds of free packs of Yorkshire Tea away courtesy of the Yorkshire Tea Company of Harrogate.

The weather also severely hit our duck race entries with an all time low of only 88. It was such a pity because for the first time in the ten or so years we have held the event the conditions in Saltburn Beck were perfect. The wind was blowing the correct way and there was enough water flowing to move the race along quickly.

Ian Swales commentated on the race whilst I donned my waders (which I bought a few years ago for fishing and have only ever used for the Duck Race) to rescue all the snagged ducks. The result of the race probably reflected those who had sponsored the most ducks with such a small number of entries.

Our five years old Grandson Daniel's duck, Divito, was the first to reach the weir. He is pictured above with the Colin Holt Cup and £15 worth of book tokens.

The result of the 2009 Duck Race was as follows:

First Place - Duck No 51 'Divito,' Daniel Abbott, Redcar
Second Place - Duck No 37 'Breast of Luck,' Anne-Marie Swales, Thornaby
Third Place - Duck No 77 'Kookie,' Councillor Irene Curr, Redcar

The winner of the Best Named Duck was Alf Muir of Middlesbrough with "Cor Luv a Duck," chosen by Eric Howden and Dave Blissett of the British Legion.

The raffle prize, of a basket of Yorkshire grocery products, was won by Emma Morgan of Redcar.